Today, we’re going to talk about the lovely people who populate your stories and how you need to figure them out before you dive into their story. After all, you’re going to have a much easier time staying in character and moving these characters along to the climactic conclusion of their tale if you’ve spent time beforehand figuring out who they are….

Today we’re going to discuss a part of your novel you might not even be aware exists. This elusive element of your writing is called the “hidden story,” and it’s essential to delivering a tale that will keep your readers up way past their bedtimes.

So, when I was pondering which part of Stephen King’s On Writing to share with you today, for some reason my brain said, “FIRST! LAST! PAGING THROUGH BOOK TO FIND UNDERLINED THINGS!” And I said, “Huh?” My brain just rolled its eyes at me. But then it explained….

You’ve given your story a working title. You’ve honed your story question to a perfect, sharp edge. You’ve crafted a satisfying, useful short synopsis. That means it’s time to sink your teeth into the Mock Table of Contents!

Tweet In last week’s intro post, I posited that not prewriting your novel is like not taking a map on a quest (which happens to end with facing down a fire-breathing dragon). Today we’re going to take a look at that metaphorical map and figure out just what it really is. Caveat Caveat emptor: Let […]